The Ebony Hillbillies | |
---|---|
Origin | New York City, New York, USA |
Genres | Old-time, Americana, blues, folk, country, jazz |
Years active | 1980’s–present |
Labels | EH MUSIC |
Members | Henrique Prince William Salter Gloria Thomas Gassaway Reggie “A.R.” Ferguson Newman Taylor Baker Allanah Salter Iris Thomas Olden Dave Colding Ricky “Dirty Red” Gordon |
Past members | Norris Washington Bennett |
Website | http://www.theEbonyHillbillies.com [1] |
The Ebony Hillbillies is an old-time string band based in NYC, New York City. [2]
A recording of their music is held in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. [3]
During the 1980s Henrique Prince began putting together a band due to "an idea of specializing in dance music, because I really liked the idea of the violin as a dance instrument." [4] He also wanted to make "music African Americans used to perform and dance to before they found the blues and jazz and the other stuff became associated with grizzled mountain white guys". [5] Based in New York City, [6] The Ebony Hillbillies began performing on New York subway platforms. [7] [8] As the band continued to perform they were invited to perform in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, [9] Washington state's Wintergrass Festival, [10] and the Kennedy Center. [11]
A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepipe, jew's harp, and comb and tissue paper. The term jug band is loosely used in referring to ensembles that also incorporate homemade instruments but that are more accurately called skiffle bands, spasm bands, or juke bands because they do not include a jug player.
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it largely developed out of old-time string music, though in contrast, bluegrass is traditionally played exclusively on acoustic instruments and also has roots in traditional English, Scottish, and Irish ballads and dance tunes as well as in blues and jazz. Bluegrass was further developed by musicians who played with Monroe, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt. Monroe characterized the genre as, "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's a part of Methodist, Holiness and Baptist traditions. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments, most often the banjo, guitar, and mandolin. Together, they form an ensemble called the string band, which has historically been the most common configuration to play old-time music. The genre is considered a precursor to modern country music.
Hayseed Dixie is an American band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2000. Their first album was A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC. The band performs bluegrass cover versions of hard rock songs and also original songs of a mostly satirical or absurdist nature in a self-created musical genre which the band calls "rockgrass." The band's name is a linguistic play on the name of the band AC/DC.
Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scruggs are viewed by music historians as one of the premier bluegrass groups in the history of the genre.
Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles, the African music and blues of early African Americans, and to a lesser extent the music of Continental Europe.
Railroad Earth is a bluegrass-influenced Americana band formed in Stillwater, New Jersey in 2001. The band's music combines elements of progressive bluegrass, folk, rock, country, jazz, Celtic and other Americana influences. Recognized as "carrying on the tradition of improvisational, genre-spanning music laid forth by the Grateful Dead," Railroad Earth is known for lyrical songwriting and extensive live improvisation. The band takes its name from the Jack Kerouac prose poem "October in the Railroad Earth". The band also has a song of the same name.
A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countrywide, in Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs they are a huge part of its musical culture and traditions, appearing, among others, in the yearly Mummers Parade.
Newman Taylor Baker is a jazz drummer and a washboard player.
Doyle Wayne Lawson is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
Harley Allen, better known as Red Allen, was an American bluegrass singer and guitarist known for his powerful tenor voice.
The Pine Hill Haints are an American traditional bluegrass/folk/honky tonk/country band from Alabama, though the band members themselves describe their unique southern roots music as "Alabama Ghost Music."
The Grascals are a six-piece American bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in February 2004, the band has gained a level of fame by playing on the Grand Ole Opry and bluegrass festivals around the country, as well as with Dolly Parton.
DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins was an American old time banjo player and an early proponent of the three-finger banjo style.
The Carolina Chocolate Drops were an old-time string band from Durham, North Carolina. Their 2010 album, Genuine Negro Jig, won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, and was number 9 in fRoots magazine's top 10 albums of 2010.
Steep Canyon Rangers is an American bluegrass band based in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina.
The Rest of the Dream is the 1990 album from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
The Lonesome River Band is an American contemporary bluegrass band. The band has released 15 recording projects since its formation in 1982. Lonesome River Band is led by Sammy Shelor who is a member of the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame and a 5-Time International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year Award recipient. The band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the years, and has not included an original member since Tim Austin left the band in 1995 to focus on Doobie Shea Records.
William G. Evans is an American musician, author, and instructor noted for his banjo proficiency and knowledge of the history of the instrument.
Dominique Flemons is an American old-time music, Piedmont blues, and neotraditional country multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. He is a proficient player of the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, percussion, quills, and rhythm bones. He is known as "The American Songster" as his repertoire of music spans nearly a century of American folklore, ballads, and tunes. He has performed with Mike Seeger, Joe Thompson, Martin Simpson, Boo Hanks, Taj Mahal, Old Crow Medicine Show, Guy Davis, and The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band.